24 



47. Pisum arvense: natural order, Leguminosa. For botanical descrip- 



tion see Field and Garden Crops, page 17 S 

 and plate XXXII B. 



Like churdl this pulse is mostly grown in moist river lands and used 

 for fodder. The peas have no poisonous qualities, and on page 90 of the 

 Jhang Settlement Eeport the late Mr. Steedman noted that the pods were 

 picked green and eaten as a vegetable, and that the grain was not usually 

 threshed except for seed. 



In the south-western districts peas (churdl and matar, which are not 

 distinguished in the crop returns) are important fodder crops. The area in 

 Multan in rabi 1911 was 40,856 acres. 



The area recorded under churdl and matar or peas in the district revenue 

 registers was 148,971 acres. Few districts outside the Multan division sow any 

 large acreage. 



48. Melilotus parviflora : natural order, Leguminosce. For botanical 



description see Hooker, Flora of British 

 India, volume II, page 89. It has 



minute yellow flowers growing in a raceme (see illustration I). It does not 

 appear to be cultivated to any extent in the United Provinces, for it is not 

 mentioned in Fuller and Duthie's Field and Garden Crops, but in the Punjab it 

 is an important fodder crop. It is often grown in irrigated land after cotton 

 or maize, being sown between the lines while these crops are still standing. 

 Farmers sow it to supply green fodder to their own cattle and do not as a rule 

 ell it, except near cities like Lahore and Amritsar, where it fetches a 

 good price. 



Its relation melilotus alba is a Punjab wild plant, which cattle 

 doubtless eat. 



49. Trigonella fcenum-grcecum : natural order, Leguminosce For bo- 



tanical description see Field and Garden 



Methra, synonyms metna, methi, methun. i TTT A/* -vrrr-*r 



Crops, part III, page 46, and plate XCIX, 



also Hooker Flora of British India, volume II, page 87. It has some resemblance 

 to senji, but is distinguished by its humbler growth and larger light yellow 

 flowers. It is fairly common in damp riverain lands, but is also grown on irrigated 

 lands, where it is often sown between the lines of cotton. It is used as green 

 fodder, and can be cut several times if the plant is watered after each cutting. 



50. Medicago denticulata (see illustration I). Is a common Punjab 

 Maina wild plant, which no doubt is eaten by 



cattle, though it is not included in the 



list of fodder plants in the Dictionary of Economic Products. It springs up 

 thickly in Gujranwala in cotton fields, and is watered, so may there be con- 

 sidered a fodder crop. A very considerable part of the area of 624,020 acres 

 shown under rabi fodder in statement II was no doubt under senji and methra. 



51. Medicago saliva : natural order, Leguminoscs.It is perhaps a culti- 

 Luceme vated variety of medicago falcata which 



grows wild in Kashmir and Kunawar 



(see Hooker, Flora of British India, volume II, page 90) . The flowers are 

 usually purple. The plant has been introduced as a crop from Europe, and is 

 commonly grown at remount depots, to supply green fodder for horses. It 

 covers a large area at the Mona Remount Depot in the Gujrat district. It 

 belongs to the same group as methra, senji, maina and shaftal (see also Fuller 

 and Duthie's Food and Garden Crops, part III, page 61). The medicagos are dis- 

 tinguished by their curious spirally twisted pods. There are three wild species 

 besides M. denticulata mentioned above in the plains M. lupulina, M. loci- 

 niata, M. minima no doubt all useful to cattle though not included in the list 

 of fodder plants in the Dictionary of Economic Products. 



52. Trifolium repens : natural order, Leguminosce. It is cultivated in 

 shafts. Afghanistan, Hazara, Peshawar, and 



Bannu, and in the Attock tahsil of the 

 Attoek district. In Bannu it is, like senji and methra, usually sown in maize 



